Bulgaria's Sofia City Bank Robbery Suspect Detained

Masked men, armed with a hammer and an assault rifle attacked the branch of First Investment Bank in Sofia's Hadzhi Dimitar district on Wednesday morning.Photo by BGNES.

A suspect of the bank robbery in Bulgaria's capital city of Sofia has been detained on Thursday night on the highway to Greece.

The 36-year-old Valentin Kirilov was among the primary suspects of the robbery of First Investment Bank branch in Sofia on 19 February, when 2-3 masked men made off with BGN 200 000 in just 93 seconds.

Kirilov was detained near the town of Sandanski on his way to checkpoint Kulata-Promahonas at the Bulgarian – Greek border together with two more individuals. The three will be escorted to Sofia Friday.

Valentin Kirilov was arrested in May 2013 on suspicion of bank robbery in the city of Kurdzhali. By end-2013, he was released under house arrest and was later let out on bail.